


Unless You Do It Without Me

by believesinponds



Series: Pimms Week 2018 [5]
Category: Check Please! (Webcomic)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, M/M, Reconciliation, Soulmate-Identifying Marks
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-30
Updated: 2018-06-30
Packaged: 2019-05-30 18:11:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,573
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15102197
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/believesinponds/pseuds/believesinponds
Summary: When a player signs with the NHL they develop a mark that tells them their soulmate's last initial, jersey number, and the number of seasons they'll play together.[Pimms Week Day 7: Seasons Promised]





	Unless You Do It Without Me

As soon as Kent’s name was called he felt the tingle of the mark. He didn’t bother to look--what did it matter? Zimms wasn’t going to the NHL and Kent didn’t want anybody else.

He made it through the ceremony, had dinner with his family, and then tried calling Jack from his hotel room.

No answer.

He stripped off his clothes and ignored the mirror, too afraid to see someone else’s numbers on his chest. He washed his hair, drenched his body in his favorite body wash, and stood under the water until his fingers wrinkled and the water went cold.

Resigned, he grabbed a towel from the rack and dried himself off, still avoiding the mark.

As he pulled on his pajamas, one of his sisters knocked on the door that connected their room to his.

“Come in!” he shouted.

His youngest sister, Jo, came in and jumped onto his bed. “Hey Kenny!”

“Hey, Jo-Jo.” He sat next to her. “What’s up?”

“Mami said you were upset so I wanted to check on you.”

Ten years old and already so caring. Kent wasn’t sure how she did it.

“Thanks, squirt. I’m doing okay, don’t worry.”

She appraised him carefully. “Hmm. Okay. Hey! Did you get the mark?”

He sighed. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

“Oh. Why not?”

“Because it’s not who I want it to be.”

“Do they have weird initials or something?”

“No, I just--I know it’s not the right person.”

“Oookay. Well what number was it? We can start looking for your person!”

“I don’t know.”

“You don’t know the number?”

“No, kid. I didn’t look.”

She frowned at him then turned to the next room and shouted, “Karla!”

His second sister came in, her eyebrows raised. “What the fuck, Jo-Jo?”

“Karla, don’t curse in front of the kid.”

“I know curses, Kenny. _God._ ”

Karla sighed and leaned against the doorframe. “Why are you screaming at me, squirt?”

“Kenny hasn’t even _looked_ at his mark yet!”

Karla frowned at him. “Really? Why not?”

“None of your--”

“Because it’s not the right person!”

Karla’s face lit up with understanding. “Okay.” She stood up straighter and turned to Jo. “Why don’t you go ask Mami about getting some room service for a bedtime snack?”

Jo narrowed her eyes. “Why? So you can get rid of me?”

“Yes. Go.”

Jo huffed and stomped back into their room, Karla closing and locking the door behind her.

“Listen, Karla, I really don’t want to talk about it.”

She joined him on the bed and nudged his shoulder with her own. “How are you doing, Kenny? Really?”

He blew out a sigh. “I don’t know.”

“It’s been kind of a crazy day, huh?”

He swallowed and nodded.

“Have you heard from him at all?”

He fell back onto the mattress, his arm flung over his eyes. “No.”

“Oh, Kenny.” She laid down next to him and carded her fingers through his hair. “I’m sorry, big bro.”

He just shook his head. “I can’t look at it, Kar. I can’t--how could he do this?”

“I don’t know. You probably know more about it than I do. But...it could still be him.”

“How? He didn’t get drafted!”

She flicked his ear. “He could come back next year, doofus.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah.” She glared at him. “So are you gonna look now?”

Kent closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “Okay. Yeah, I’ll look at it.”

“Good.”

“No, ugh.” His hands flew to his face. “I can’t to it.”

“You want me to look first?”

He let out a breath. “Yeah.”

She sat up, ruffled his hair, and tugged up his shirt to expose his chest.

“Well?” He asked.

Karla pinched his side and then smiled at him. “It’s a Z, number one, three seasons.”

“It’s a Z? Really?” Kent could feel all his hope returning. “Z number one?”

“That’s right, big bro. And you get three seasons of playing together.”

Kent’s eyes welled up with tears, spilling down the sides of his face as he stared in awe at the ceiling. “God. I can’t believe it.”

“Maybe you should go take a look. I’ll tell Mami and the squirt that you’re going to bed.”

Kent took her hand and squeezed it tight. “Thank you, Karla. You’re the best.”

“Don’t I know it.” She kissed his forehead and grinned. “Now go stare at your soulmark for like three hours and then dream of your boy, okay? Everything’s going to be fine.”

 

He went all season without hearing anything from Zimms, but he didn’t let it drag him down. He knew that Jack was going to join him in the NHL, had irrefutable proof of it, and the radio silence wouldn’t last once they were both where they were supposed to be.

The season itself was a mess, but Kent was playing professional hockey, he had gone first overall in the draft, and he was _kicking ass_. Sure, the GM got fired after some nasty embezzling rumors turned out to be true, but what did Kent care? He just focused on improving his game with every opportunity he got.

At the end of the year he called Zimms to leave another voicemail, but instead he got a message saying the phone had been disconnected.

So, what? Jack was mad at him? For staying in the draft, maybe?

Kent sighed to himself. Whatever. He’d spend the summer training and bulking up and then he’d see Zimms eventually when they played each other. Then they could finally work everything out.

He just had to get through the summer.

 

The draft came along and Zimms wasn’t in it. According to a statement released by the Zimmermann family, Jack was coaching peewee in Montreal.

Okay.

So maybe he needed another year to get back in top shape. That was fine.

Kent could wait.

 

It was the last year Zimms would be eligible for the draft--surely he would enroll this time, right?

Wrong.

 

Zimms was going to college.

 

“Scrappy, _Jesus_ , would you get off of me?” Jeff pushed but Scraps didn’t budge.

Kent threw a wadded up napkin at them. “If you two fucking break my couch I am going to sue!”

“Fuck off, Parser, we’re just playing around,” Scraps said, blowing a raspberry on Jeff’s stomach.

“Ah!” Jeff was laughing, shoving at Scraps’s head and flailing around.

“Soulmates,” Kent muttered to himself. He shook his head and grabbed the tray with drinks and snacks, bringing it out to the coffee table. “I swear to god I am going to murder both of you if you keep doing that shit and then who’s gonna protect me on the ice, huh?”

They settled down long enough to let Kent set the spread of food and then they dragged him into their pile, laughing and smushing him until he cried uncle.

“God, you two are a nuisance.” Kent piled several pigs-in-a-blanket onto his plate and dug in. “Can we at least watch the game in peace?”

“It’s baseball,” Scraps muttered. “What is there to watch?”

“It’s relaxing,” Kent said. “And it’s all about the stats.”

“Fucking nerd.” Jeff stood and left the room, returning a moment later with a purple and pink makeup organizer. “Scraps! Let me practice my wingtip on you.”

Scraps grinned and sat down in front of the couch, his back knocking into the coffee table.

“Watch out!” Kent growled, saving a bottle from tipping over.

Jeff just rolled his eyes and opened the lid, digging until he produced a dark red eyeliner and a little tube of black glitter.

“Pretty,” Scraps said, grinning.

Jeff leaned forward and kissed his forehead. “Only the prettiest for you, babe.”

Kent sighed and sank into the couch, waiting for the game to start.

About an hour into the game Kent was roped into getting his own makeover, and soon they were mostly ignoring the game in favor of painting each other’s toenails while they talked shit about some of the Schooners. Kent was just getting into a rant about their second-line forward when his phone lit up with a text from an unknown number. Usually Kent would ignore it, but the words caught his eye and he gasped.

 **Unknown Number**  
_Kenny. It’s Jack.  
We need to talk._

“What the fuck,” he whispered.

Jeff and Scraps both looked up, concerned. Kent held the phone out so they could see.

Scraps looked furious. “What the fuck does he think he’s doing?”

“Yeah, that’s fucking bullshit, what the hell?” Jeff squeezed Kent’s arm. “What do you need, man? You okay?”

“Why does he want to talk _now_?” Kent frowned down at his phone. “I don’t understand.”

“You want me to kick his ass for you, Parser?” Scraps rubbed his fist threateningly. “‘Cause I’ll do it.”

“And you know I’ll be right there to knee him in the groin when Scrappy’s done,” Jeff added.

Kent laughed. “Thanks, guys. I just--does he not realize how _anxious_ a text like that is gonna make me? Like. What the fuck?”

“Yeah, doesn’t he have like major anxiety? Of all the people who should know better.” Jeff shook his head.

“Right?” Kent sighed. “Fuck. What do I do?”

“You don’t have to do anything.” Jeff held out his hand. “I’ll hold on to your phone and we’ll finish watching this stupid baseball game and _then_ you can decide if you want to respond.”

Kent looked at his phone and nodded. “Yeah, you’re right. I don’t need to--oh shit.”

 **Unknown Number**  
[picture of Jack’s chest, an intricate tattooed P with “#90” and “3 seasons” printed underneath]

“Oh shit,” Jeff echoed.

Scraps leaned forward. “What? What is it?”

“I have to call him.”

“Kent--”

Kent shook his head. “No, Jeff, seriously. I have to do this.”

“You want us to go?” Scraps asked, frowning.

“No. Just--I’ll be in the room. If you guys can...wait?”

“Yeah.”

“‘Course.”

Kent gave them a grateful smile. “Thanks, guys.” He breathed for a minute, nodded, and then went to his bedroom.

The phone rang twice and it was two times too many.

“Kenny.”

“Zimms.”

They were both silent for a moment.

“So,” Kent cleared his throat. “Uh, who did you sign with?”

“Oh. Providence.”

“Cool.”

“Kenny?”

“Yeah?”

“I’m sorry.”

Kent sucked in a breath.

“For a lot of things,” Jack continued. “But I’m really sorry for...saying that you made it all up.”

“Yeah, well. Thanks, Zimms.”

“I get it if you can’t forgive me. I just—I wanted you to know that I regretted that long before today.”

“Oh.” Kent bit his lip. “Okay.”

“Kenny?”

“Yeah?”

“...Euh.”

“What’s up, Zimms?”

“I was thinking. Can I see you?”

Kent blinked rapidly, tilting his head back. His throat was right. “Um. Yeah. When, uh—” He cleared his throat. “When were you thinking?”

“Soon? Training doesn’t start for a little bit—maybe sometime before then?”

He swallowed. “Okay. Yeah.”

“Great. Would you rather have me come to Vegas? Or I can get you a ticket to come here.”

He thought about his overprotective friends in the next room. “Um. I can come there, if you want?”

“Yeah, Kenny. That sounds great. I’ll send you the flight details.”

“Zimms, I can get my own plane ticket.”

“I know. I just...please? Can I do this for you?”

Kent laughed quietly. “Yeah, Zimms, okay. Text me the info? I can leave any time after Saturday.”

“Okay. I’ll get the info to you later today.”

“Cool.”

“Kenny?”

“Yeah?”

“I’m excited to see you. I...I miss you.”

It was like someone punched all the air out of him. He coughed and then laughed at his own reaction. “Me too, Zimms. Me too.”

 

The flight to Providence was nice, and Kent was only a little nervous to meet Zimms at the airport.

“Kenny!” Jack was standing by his car in the pick-up line, waving.

Kent smiled and made his way over, hugging Jack on auto-pilot. “Hey, Zimms.”

“Come on. That’s security guy is going to yell at me if we don’t get out of this lane.”

Kent laughed. “Such a trouble-maker, aren’t you Zimms?”

“Yeah, yeah. Get in the car, Parse.”

They spent the drive to Jack’s apartment chatting about their off season routines. Kent was planning to work with his trainer through Skype so he could go home and visit his family. Jack had someone here in Providence and he had already found a gym to use.

When they finally made it to Jack’s place, the door closed and locked, they both were at a loss for words.

Jack sucked in a breath and gave Kent an intense look. He reached out and took one of Ken’ts hands. “So, euh. I know I said this already, but I...want to apologize again. For what I said when you came to visit me.”

Kent licked his lips. “Yeah, that really sucked.”

“I know. I’m so sorry. I was still jealous and angry about everything and I shouldn’t have taken that out on you, Kenny.”

“Thanks, Zimms.” He sighed. “I know I did the same thing to you, though, so I guess we’re kinda even.”

“It isn’t about that. It’s--I was being selfish and mean. But I also missed you so much that it hurt, and all those things flying around in my head...well, you know what I do when I’m overwhelmed.”

Kent snorted. “Yeah. I know.”

“I’m doing better.” Jack squeezed his hand. “I’ve dealt with a lot of stuff and I’ve found better ways of coping. So...I’m going to do everything that I can to make things better with you. Whatever that means, whatever you want.”

“Zimms.” Kent’s voice was pleading, but he didn’t know what he was asking for.

Jack pulled him into a hug, more intimate and meaningful this time, and Kent clung to him with a sob. “We can’t do that again, Jack,” he said. “We can’t keep trying to hurt each other, it’s too--it’s to much.”

“I know, Kenny.” Jack kissed the top of his head. “I’m so sorry.”

“I can’t take it if I have to lose you again.” He pulled back and went to wipe his eyes, but Jack beat him to it.

He cupped Kent’s cheek with his big, soft hand and brushed the tears away with a thumb. “You won’t. I’m not going anywhere.”

“Promise?” Kent’s voice cracked.

“Yeah, bud. I promise.”

Kent leaned in and put his head back on Jack’s chest, spending a few minutes just feeling safe in his arms. “Is this just because of the mark?” he asked.

Jack squeezed him closer. “No. It was just the push that I needed, Kenny.” He leaned back to look Kent in the eye. “Even if there were no soulmarks, I still would have wanted to come back to you.”

“Zimms.” Kent touched Jack’s cheek. “I missed you.”

“I missed you too, Kenny.”

“It’s gonna take some time for use to work through everything, you know.”

“I know. I think we probably owe each other a lot of apologies.”

Kent nodded. “Yeah. I think so too.”

“We have time, though. Right? I mean, we don’t have to talk everything over at once.”

“True.” Kent leaned up just slightly. “You gonna stick around this time?”

Jack tightened his grip on Kent, bringing him closer. “Yeah, Kenny. I am.”

“Okay.”

“Kenny?”

“Yeah?”

“Can I kiss you?”

“God, yes.”

Jack leaned down and did just that.


End file.
